People no longer can buy puppies from sites along Mason Road

Harris County bans roadside sale of pet animals

Published 5:30 am, Monday, October 1, 2007

Crates and boxes full of playful puppies along Mason Road on the weekends will no longer be a familiar sight for Katy-area motorists.

Pet breeders and animal sellers will be forced to set up shop elsewhere as a Harris County law banning the roadside sale of pets and livestock began Monday.

Harris County Commissioners Court approved a ban making it illegal to sell any type of animal on public property, including shopping centers, or public rights of way. Violators could be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Roadside adoption sites in front of Kroger, Palais Royal and other stores along Mason Road had almost become a tourist attraction, enticing hundreds.

However, the large crowds that typically surround the cuddly canines were few and far between last Saturday morning, two days before the ban went into effect. Only a handful of breeders could be found along the road.

Good news

That's good news to
Colleen Hodges
, spokeswoman for Harris County's Veterinary Public Health, who says selling pets along the roadside is "a money-making proposition" that makes animals and people vulnerable to communicable diseases.

"The animals that are frequently sold are not usually healthy, frequently get ill and frequently die," she said. "Animals are urinating and defecating on the ground and it's not cleaned, and the next weekend someone comes along and puts their puppies or animals there, or children play there."

Cities have the authority to outlaw roadside animal sales, but counties are unable to do so without legislative permission.

The Texas Legislature recently approved a law allowing officials in Harris, Bexar, Dallas and Tarrant counties to implement a ban.

In addition to preventing the spread of illness, the ban is expected to help control pet crowding, avoid traffic congestion and discourage irresponsible pet breeding.

Hodges said generally sellers on the side of the road are not reputable breeders and often sell animals that are not properly vaccinated.

"By the time we get the dog or puppy (in our facility), the dog is dying," said Hodges, adding that those puppies often die of parvo, a contagious disease that attacks the lining of a dog's digestive system. "The people who sell these puppies have no medical records on these pets, and it's not helping with animal disease control."

Healthy dogs

But
Ross Braune
, a Victoria resident who sells his dachshund puppies along Mason Road, doesn't agree with the reasons supporting the ban, adding that his dogs are healthy and registered with a credible kennel club.

"We have good dogs and they go to good homes," said Braune, who has been selling puppies along the roadside for a few years. "The reason they're registered, the reason I'm getting them shots, is to prevent people from getting a bad or unhealthy dog."

Since Braune has been selling his purebred puppies, he said no purchaser has called him to complain of a sick dog. His puppies are bred from two Dachshunds that he and his wife own, he said, adding that breeding the dogs is a hobby.

Braune said he came to the Katy area after hearing that Mason Road was famous for selling puppies. Now that he's banned from Harris County, Braune said he may move into another county or advertise in the newspaper.

"I guess I'd have to go to Fort Bend County to do this," he said. "I'm not going to take a risk getting a fine."

Dessie Daniels, a Katy-area passer-by who often looks at the puppies over the weekend, said the dachshund she purchased from a roadside vendor was healthy.

"We love the dogs so we come out and look," Daniels said. "Every time we come out here the dogs are sheltered, shaded and comfortable."

Tom Allen, practice manager at Katy Veterinary Clinic, said he advises Katy-area residents to purchase pets from reputable breeders rather than from roadside vendors.